Hi everyone, I wanted to share this in case it helps someone else in the future. After 3 YEARS of chasing an electrical fault on my Ducati Multistrada, I finally discovered that the aftermarket alarm was the cause of all the problems. Over the last few months I replaced or checked almost everything trying to find the fault, including: Battery Starter relay Micro relays Fuses Various electrical connections Hours of troubleshooting and testing The symptoms were random and made the problem very difficult to diagnose. Sometimes the dashboard wouldn't power up properly, the bike wouldn't start, and there were intermittent electrical issues that seemed to come and go. Even the mechanics couldn't figure out what it was, and for some reason i never thought about the aftermarket alarm Eventually, I removed the aftermarket alarm, and the bike immediately came back to life and all the issues disappeared. In my case, the alarm was interfering with the bike's electrical system even though it wasn't obvious that it was the source of the problem. If your Ducati has an older aftermarket alarm and you're experiencing unexplained electrical faults, don't overlook it. It could save you a lot of time, money, and frustration. Hopefully this helps someone avoid the same headache I went through. Now every time i hear an alarm i start swearing haha Ride safe!
I don't think it matters. After being fitted to a bike for a few years they all appear to be the same. The only difference being how long it takes them to start causing issues. Some appear to causes issues almost from day one. I've always immediately removed any fitted to any bike I've purchased. Perhaps if somebody is buying a new bike, having the alarm fitted from new, and don't plan to keep the bike more than 2 or 3 years it will be OK. But for the rest of us plebs they are an electrical issue timebomb.
It was the Acumen, and i had the issue for a long time but i never thought it was the alarm. The truth is that generally the alarms etc cause issues most of the time, especially if the installers are not giving much attention and just want to quickly do the job
i was going to remove it to be honest when i bought it, but since im living in London i had second thoughts. Imagine that all these years i thought that the problem was with the Ducati and not with the alarm. If you think of it, apart from the alarm issue i never had a problem with my Multi apart from the usual maintenance issues
Congratulations Lyo - i know this is "after the horse has bolted" but i wish you had asked on here, as, in particular, the Datatool alarm, when a few years down the line, has been the bane of many biker's lives, and there are several threads on here. Have stripped many off bikes over the years with instant improvement. It might not be the above party, but it was the mercury* based sensor that was problematic as it* became polluted and unreliable.
Actually i have asked couple of years ago but again no one thought of the alarm, to be honest i never mentioned that i had an alarm so its my fault You cant imagine what I've been through with this issue which i thought it was the bikes, also the jokes from my BMW, Triumph and KTM friends hahahaha despite that i was ''punishing'' them every time we were going for a ride i must say that all of them kept quiet when i found out about the alarm issue and never said anything about Ducati (actually two of them bought Ducati's after, a pikes peak and a monster hahah) If you think of it, all this years that i own the multistrada, i never had any issues with the actual bike, as the aftermarket alarm got nothing to do with Ducati in general. So im more than happy with my Multi im taking care of it, i do the necessary maintenance and services and its just fine, the bike has 50,300 miles so far
On previous bikes I've had aftermarket alarms, all have caused issues in the end. Various Datatool ones, across multiple bikes, each failing after a few years. The so called factory one fitted to my MV by the supplying dealer failed within 2 weeks. Being a sucker for punishment I bought a Ducati alarm for my 2018 Multi 1260, it's essentially plug-in-and-play with an existing dedicated socket in the bike's loom. This has, I must say (touch wood), been completely trouble free for the last 7 and a half years. Transferred to my Pikes Peak when I got that at the end of 2024 and still working well. For better for worse an alarm for me forms part of a multi layered theft deterrence system. Basically as many things to dissuade theft as possible without being a huge inconvenience to use.
i think the best solution is a tracking device like Moni moto, as i heard is the best and its stand alone not interfering with bikes battery and cables, a very good portable lock like Litelock or Granite and maybe a good loud disklock with alarm i think these three are the best for riding around London, for you i think if you live in London the best solution to ride around the city would be a tracking device like Moni moto as i heard is the best one since it doesn't interfere with the bikes buttery and cables, a good lock like Litelock or Granite as they seem to be the most durable and reliable from various tests and a very good disc lock with alarm. All these equipment just to save even more time For your home i will just add a 16mm and above chain (like immobiliser etc) Even with this equipment you don't guarantee the safety of your bike, you just add more time the most annoying thing is that the police and the government will not protect you and wont let you defend your property despite the fact that they are trespassing, which i cant understand it as a Mediterranean. i remember i asked a policeman one day how i can protect my bike incase and he said ''don't do anything'' which it was really frustrating
And that's what I meant by a multi layered theft deterrence system. Not just an alarm but physical security (portable when out and about and more secure but heavier duty for home location). I have the top insurance approved tracker, the Ducati alarm and a Roadlock disk lock when out and about or on tour. At home there's a ground anchor and beefy Squire chain and lock in the garage. Not only London, even Cheltenham has been plagued lately by masked Surron riding scrotes having high value bikes away. Frequently see them brazenly riding around the town, the few police we still have on the streets seem completely ineffectual in tackling the problem.
